The rookie center scored two goals in the Griffins' 5-1 win against the Manitoba Moose on Friday night at Van Andel Arena.

Emmerton, who also has 23 assists this season, had just three goals in his previous 49 games. It was the first time he had scored since Dec. 19.

"It's amazing after watching these goals he scored that he doesn't have a lot more," Fraser said. "It was good to see the kid get on the board, and those were two real pretty goals."

Emmerton's first goal with 6:20 left in the second period proved to be the game-winner after it snapped a 1-1 tie.

His second came less than 2 minutes later, as he was falling down. He still was able to pop a high shot past Manitoba's All-Star goaltender Cory Schneider.

"I've been guilty of sometimes being open and maybe not shooting it enough, or just kind of shooting it at the net and not really trying to pick a hole," Emmerton said. "I think the biggest thing is hitting the net. For some reason, today I set my mind that I was going to shoot the puck."

It worked. But his production has been increasing in recent games. Before Friday's game, Emmerton had points in five of his past seven games.

He's also been receiving more ice time recently, as the Griffins' lineup has been hit by injuries (Mattias Ritola, Jonathan Ericsson) and callups by the parent club Detroit Red Wings (Ville Leino, Darren Helm).

He hopes to make the most of his increased playing time.

"You have to earn it. It wasn't just given to me, and it's not going to be given to me just because I scored two goals," Emmerton said. "Tomorrow I've got to play just as well and work just as hard."

"They treat you fair here. If you're playing well and you're working hard, you're going to get your chance."

This is Emmerton's first full season with the Griffins. He had one assist in seven games at the end of last season, and went scoreless in two playoff games in 2006-07.

He said having the chance to play regularly -- even though he's been scratched seven times this season -- has helped his growth.

"The more ice and the more games I play, I'm going to learn a lot more. It's unbelievable how much I've learned this year," Emmerton said. "There's been some rough spots where I obviously didn't play, and I didn't really deserve to play. I wasn't producing and I probably wasn't doing enough for the team. You try and tell yourself not to think about it, but you learn."

Now Fraser just has to convince him to shoot more.

"He's been working on it, but he's a young guy. Games like this, he'll learn from and he'll continue to do it more until it starts working for him every game."